Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to powered water going vessels or boats, and particularly to relatively small, highly maneuverable, fast, jet powered boats. In further particularity, the present invention pertains to such boats used to provide emergency services, such as fire fighting, rescue, and emergency medical services, on water.
2. Background
A variety of jet powered water craft are currently available. Some are very large, very high-performance racing boats. Many are xe2x80x9cpersonal water craft,xe2x80x9d distinguished by their small size, and a high degree of maneuverability. Typical of these personal water craft is that the operator position is centered on the craft, and the operator typically straddles the engine compartment. These boats draw water in through a water intake, and direct a jet of water out the rear of the boat to propel the boat forward. By changing the direction of the jet of water, the operator can change the direction of boat movement. Typically, these boats have a very shallow draft as they are propelled forward, as they skim along the surface of the water. However, these jet powered boats tend to be unstable when the weight on board shifts or changes, and they therefore do not generally have the stability necessary for them to be useful for providing work platforms, such as is required to perform rescue or emergency medical services.
A very different category of boat comprises a fire and rescue boats. Such boats are used by emergency medical personnel to rescue people who are injured or otherwise incapacitated while engaging in water sports. These boats may also include the capability of pumping water from around the boat and directing a stream of that water onto a burning boat, water-side building, or other target. The boats used for emergency services are typically relatively large, displacement style boats that continuously displace a volume of water having weight equivalent to the weight of the boat itself. Thus, these boats all are relatively slower than are jet-powered boats. However, the displacement type boats tend to be extremely stable, and may provide reliable work platforms for use in rescue, medical aid, patient transportation, and fire fighting purposes.
For fire fighting purposes, emergency response boats draw water through an intake on the side of the hull, pump it through a conduit to one or more monitors located on the upper portion of the hull. These monitors typically have movement in three axes so that the stream of water from the monitor may be directed as desired by the fire fighting personnel. Rescue and medical aid boats have flat deck space to carry stretchers for injured or ill persons, and to provide surfaces on which the medical or rescue personnel may perform their work.
The popular jet powered personal water craft have proven to be less than ideally suitable for many fire and rescue and other emergency services. One of the chief drawbacks has been that the hull design, which renders the boat extremely fast and maneuverable, also tends to contribute to instability in the craft. Such instability makes it difficult for emergency response personnel to attend to the various emergency duties, since they must constantly be concerned with tipping the craft. Furthermore, typically such boats do not have room to accommodate emergency equipment, and particularly not injured persons for transport. In yet another drawback, the forces of drawing water into the hull to use in fire fighting tends to destabilize the boat.
If the above problems with jet-powered boats could be resolved, such boats could be quite useful as emergency response boats. The high speed of small jet-powered boats would allow emergency personnel to reach an emergency situation rapidly. In addition, the very shallow draft (and absence of propellers protruding below the hull) allows the boat to reach areas where conventional boats cannot operate.
The present invention is a jet powered boat having a unique hull design that provides a high degree of stability at high speed and in rough water, while still allowing the boat to be operated at high speeds. The jet powered boat of the present invention additionally includes unique engine placement and a unique hull opening through the bottom of the hull to provide improved stability. The hull opening allows water to be drawn into a water delivery system for uses such as fire fighting. The hull opening is in the bottom of the hull to allow water to be drawn from beneath the craft so that does not affect the stability of the craft.
In particular, the present invention is an improved jet powered boat. The jet powered boat comprises a hull, a fluid jet conduit having an intake along the bottom of the hull and a jet outlet at the rear of the hull, and a drive motor for propelling water from the intake through the conduit to the jet outlet. An operator control station within the hull contains controls for the drive motor and the jet outlet. The improvement of the present invention includes an outlet water monitor mounted on top of the hull. The water monitor may be moved to direct a stream of water in any of a plurality of directions. A hull opening is provided through the bottom of the hull, and a water conduit connects the hull opening to the outlet monitor. A pump engine connected to the water conduit draws water through the conduit from the hull opening to the outlet monitor.
In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the improved jet powered boat includes a second propulsion or conduit intersecting the water monitor conduit at point between the pump motor and water monitor. The second propulsion water conduit has a second propulsion outlet at the rear the hull. A movable baffle in the monitor water conduit at a point at which the monitor water conduit and the second propulsion water conduit intersect is movable between a first position and a second position. When the baffle is in the first position, the baffle directs water through the monitor conduit, but substantially restricts the flow of water through the second propulsion conduit. When the baffle is in the second position, the baffle directs water into the second propulsion conduit.
The jet powered boat of the present invention includes a unique progressive xe2x80x9cVxe2x80x9d hull shape that provides lateral stability and directional stability, and provides flat upper surfaces for work platforms and patient transportation.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, a debris screen may be selectively placed in the propulsion intake opening through the hull, through which the propulsion motor draws water for propulsion purposes.